It’s make or break for Frank de Boer at Crystal Palace

28 June 2017, 13:33

The former Ajax manager will need success at Selhurst Park to spark life back into his managerial career

The arrival of Frank de Boer as Crystal Palace manager has certainly stirred up the Palace faithful.

Frank de Boer, the former Netherlands star, is the first foreign manager the club have had and the excitement surrounding his appointment is tangible.

After living through the archaic football offered up by the likes of Sam Allardyce, Alan Pardew, Neill Warnock and Tony Pulis in recent years, it is easy to see why the Palace fans are hoping this is the start of a new dawn.

For the first time in some time, they have a manager who could bring in the exciting brand of football that they have long craved. Long ball football is sure to be a thing of the past.

But while this represents a bright new start for their club, it is very much last chance saloon for their new manager.

De Boer may have had a stellar playing career, in which he won the Champions League, six league titles and 112 international caps, but his managerial career is yet to get properly going.

At Ajax he can claim he was a success, having won four back-to-back Eredivisie titles there following his arrival in 2010. Indeed, the success they enjoyed in the Europa League last season was largely built on foundations he built during his time at the club.

But Inter Milan was a completely different story. Sacked after just 85 days in the job with five wins from fourteen games, his time in Italy was nothing short of a disaster.

His move to Serie A was supposed to have been a bright start for both clubs. Inter Milan could return to their previous greatness while De Boer could prove he was a top-level manager.

His success in Holland was admirable, especially considering Ajax had not won the title for six years before he arrived, but it wasn’t highly thought of. As far as many were concerned, success with Ajax should have been a foregone conclusion.

It is likely why he missed out on the Everton job to Ronald Koeman. Unlike his compatriot, Koeman had proven himself during his two years with Southampton in the Premier League.

And that is why Crystal Palace represents something of a last chance saloon for De Boer. Failure at Selhurst Park will likely see him consigned to the scrap pile for good.

His detractors will point to failings in both Italy and England as proof he is not capable of handling jobs in tougher leagues than the Eredivisie.

Success, however, will help turn the tide of opinion in his favour. If Frank de Boer can transform Palace into a regular top ten side playing attractive football, the doubts raised from that disastrous stint in Italy will be quickly swept away.

Next season should prove to be an interesting one and Palace have just added themselves into the mix. With the players they have, De Boer could do something special. He’ll have to; his managerial future is dependent upon it.